Heavy Metal Pedal Prototype

[petemoore]

This one's piqueing my interest !!!
 Have a great build RDV !!!

[RDV]

The schematic at the first of the post is what I hope will be the sinal folution...er, uh..final revision of this sucker! I'd suggest breadboarding cause I'm not 100% sure the parametric will work. I'm going to perf it this weekend(I hope) sometime & post another report then. Please, someone feel free to do it & post a report. I'm exausted, mentally. I haven't had an idle moment for a long time, please give utmost respect for those who design & build these things because they are working hard, believe me!

Regards

RDV

[petemoore]

"Don't you AlreaDy Have Every type of Distortion known to mankind"
 "Well...Yeahhh...all sept THiS one" !!!
  Take it Easy RDV...There'll be time tomorrow to drive yourself to the brink of exhaustion...[I keep telling myself this].

[petemoore]

Has this version of the Heavy Metal Pedal been confirmed or tried yet?
 I'm thinking of trying it on perf, [no breadboard here] but wondering if it's been tried/tested yet.
 ??

[RDV]

Has this version of the Heavy Metal Pedal been confirmed or tried yet?
 I'm thinking of trying it on perf, [no breadboard here] but wondering if it's been tried/tested yet.
 ??

I've not had a lot of time this weekend, but I'm off next weekend(no gig), so I should jump in head first. I've perfed the first section(before the parametric), but have yet to tackle the parametric.

Above was edited cause it was B.S. due to a stupid wiring mistake. It now is correct(see next post).


RDV

[RDV]

I reviewed my wiring yet again on the first section, and imagine that, I made a mistake! :shock:  :?

I think the circuit is pretty happening all the way to the regular tone control(all I've built so far). This is a slow process for me cause I am not an electronics genius, just a regular guy with an idea that I think is good, and the drive to get it done(hopefully) in spite of my limitations.

Pete:

If you want to try it, go ahead, I know it works through the regular tone control @ least(and sounds pretty good too). It's real big and crunchy.

Regards

RDV

[ahermida]

RDV:

    Please post some clips when you have a chance.

Alf

[RDV]

RDV:

    Please post some clips when you have a chance.

Alf

I've already started adding the parametric section(got to get a 10k trim from RS today), so it will be a bit before it's finished. I don't really have website to host them from either. I've been hosting the pics from photobucket which is free.

Regards

RDV

[will]

Hi Brian,

it will work.  the diodes go th vb, and so does the bias risistor.  as long as the cap is sufficiently large in the voltage divider.  47uf should work

I totally agree my comments don't apply to the corrected/updated schematic. It should work fine.  

I'm interested in hearing the results.

Regards,
Will

[petemoore]

I tried the 'bottom section' of the schematic, the Gyrator circuit.
 What have I done? :shock:
 Seems to work!!! Very interesting Bass control, is the best I can do to describe it...what have I done? :?
 For me to begin to explain cause/effect ... technically/musicall, will take a little better understanding of what it is I've done. :idea:
 I can say from a simple 'what's it do' perspective...it does 'strange' things to the bass content that makes interesting use of the bass register on my modded DIST+., and that I've got it working.
 I can not say it's a hybrid Metal Pedal, however, there is the increased bass content and definition [expecialy for how much more bass content there is], and that I played with it for a long time last night, trying different interesting sounding settings, making the DIST + much more metal'ish'.  :evil:
 At this point a scope would make the design aspect more interesting, and probably easier. :roll:
 In the absence of a scope, being able to tune where the top and bottom range of the frequency band starts getting cutoff might be interesting to tune by ear. :wink:
 I wouldn't know where even to start to change the frequency range of the simple parametric, I'm just starting to get an idea how the pots 'work' ... the 1 meg pots influece seems dependant on at least one of the two 10k pots settings..
 Very interesting what this does to the DIST+ sound, chosen for testing by default because it was right there.
 Anyway to summarize last nights endeavors, the Parametric is working, and does indeed seem to have a 'metallizing' effect on  a Distortion circuit.
 I was having good fun playing 'it' as is, a nice addidion to a DIST+, quite different than without it, and very fun to play.

[RDV]

I tried the 'bottom section' of the schematic, the Gyrator circuit.
 What have I done? :shock:
 Seems to work!!! Very interesting Bass control, is the best I can do to describe it...what have I done? :?
 For me to begin to explain cause/effect ... technically/musicall, will take a little better understanding of what it is I've done. :idea:
 I can say from a simple 'what's it do' perspective...it does 'strange' things to the bass content that makes interesting use of the bass register on my modded DIST+., and that I've got it working.
 I can not say it's a hybrid Metal Pedal, however, there is the increased bass content and definition [expecialy for how much more bass content there is], and that I played with it for a long time last night, trying different interesting sounding settings, making the DIST + much more metal'ish'.  :evil:
 At this point a scope would make the design aspect more interesting, and probably easier. :roll:
 In the absence of a scope, being able to tune where the top and bottom range of the frequency band starts getting cutoff might be interesting to tune by ear. :wink:
 I wouldn't know where even to start to change the frequency range of the simple parametric, I'm just starting to get an idea how the pots 'work' ... the 1 meg pots influece seems dependant on at least one of the two 10k pots settings..
 Very interesting what this does to the DIST+ sound, chosen for testing by default because it was right there.
 Anyway to summarize last nights endeavors, the Parametric is working, and does indeed seem to have a 'metallizing' effect on  a Distortion circuit.
 I was having good fun playing 'it' as is, a nice addidion to a DIST+, quite different than without it, and very fun to play.

I've built the front end, and you've built the ass end, and they both work, so I guess we can assume that the circuit works as drawn(by moi). I've got the parametric in progress, but not complete, cause I need a 10k trim for the resonance control. I'm gonna get one today from RS.

The parametric controls do this(in theory):
1.The 10k pot(labeled BASS) is pupposed to control the content of boost(resonant peak), or cut(notch) of the EQ.
2.The 10k trimpot(labeled resonance) is supposed to control the Q of the circuit(how wide an area the EQ effects).
3.The 1Meg pot(labeled BASS FREQUENCY) is supposed to control the frequency that the EQ effects from about 50hz to 500hz(I hope).

Boy! This is starting to get a bit exciting. HAH!

Now all we need is someone to work up a PCB for this monster!

RDV

[ahermida]

I tried the 'bottom section' of the schematic, the Gyrator circuit.
 
 I can say from a simple 'what's it do' perspective...it does 'strange' things to the bass content that makes interesting use of the bass register on my modded DIST+., and that I've got it working.
 I can not say it's a hybrid Metal Pedal, however, there is the increased bass content and definition [expecialy for how much more bass content there is], and that I played with it for a long time last night, trying different interesting sounding settings, making the DIST + much more metal'ish'.  :evil:
 

Petemoore:

     When I started working the low end of my pedal I felt the same way...the Parametric EQ brings some sort of presence to the sound that is not easy to describe.  Initially my EQ was developed as a standalone pedal to be placed after a distortion/OD unit, so when I turned it off I would notice something lacking from the distorted sound...as soon as I kicked it back in the pedal would come back to life.  The interesting thing is that you can tune it to your specific amp/cabinet to get the best performance.  Someone that tested the parametric  EQ standalone pedal told me "you don't know you need it until you turn it off and listen to a pedal by itself".  This person was using the EQ after a TS9.

Alf

[RDV]

Update:

I had to shitcan the volume recovery stage and make it a plain buffer per R.G.'s schem. Making the last stage a gain stage made the circuit oscillate like nobody's business. Seems to work fine without it. Plenty of volume & gain. I again, can't crank up & really test it cause everybody's doing HHOOMMEEWWOORRKK, & trying to go to BBBEEEDDDD, & looking @ me like I'm an asshole. Nevermind I'm making a breakdown....er...breakthrough, yeah! that's it, a breakthrough(starts to laugh uncontrollably), but I digress. Being a responsible dad really sux sometimes!!

@ the limited volume & time I got to listen, it seems that the bass parametric section only boosts or goes back to flat, rather than notching, oh well. I didn't really want to notch much any way. I was looking to overcome the bass loss seemingly inherent in high gain designs, & I may have cracked it, but I'm not jumping to any conclusions just yet. :roll: More testing is needed.

I've updated the schem for those of you building along. It works for sure, I've got it in front of me & it works, quite how well I don't know, more changes may be in store.

If you are perfing along with me(or planning on it), the circuit fits well on one of those RS medium size boards with the two rails running down the middle(ideal for the 9v+ & the 4.5+ needed for OA circuits) with plenty of room to spare.

SPAM ALERT
Oh, by the way, if you need any of those 1uF film caps this circuit is loaded with, I got a bunch still left for cheap. .68uF, .47uF, .22uF, & 470k resistors too!

Regards

RDV

[strungout]

Oy.

Well, I just breadboarded it a few hours ago. I got that oscillation thing playing with the pots/trims, I got some tremolo effect and changing the frequency was very reminiscent of old b-series alien movies  . Yeah so, i got some problems with the "bass" section, but since you say it works well, I guess I must've screwed up a connection somewhere... I'm gonna try the new schem tomorrow. I do like the gain of it. keep it up

Ciao.

PS: oh, is it normal that it eats up the battery so quick?

[petemoore]

Notch means...only a narrow band of frequencies 'gets through'?
 That's pretty much what I think I'm after...
  Rolling off highs, and limiting only a certain amount of lows say at input, would leave the band of freqs that are left in the midddle, but how sharp would the cutroff be?
 That said, some kind of curve on a bass peak filter [or is that the same thing?] would be worth experimenting with.
 Maybe  there's a way to tune a coil to produce a fairly narrow band bass eq peak...
  I'm pretty certain that's what I'm after if that semi narrow to narrow bass frequency band.
 The other post "PEQ" [Parametric EQ] tonight is about the experiments with and SD-1 [sounds like a very thick TS+ beyond]...Was a fun play no doubt. Kinda took some dialing, only tunes cool one way, but werth the monkeying to get there...didn't really sound like yer average widget...

[RDV]

I got that oscillation thing playing with the pots/trims, I got some tremolo effect and changing the frequency was very reminiscent of old b-series alien movies  . Yeah so, i got some problems with the "bass" section, but since you say it works well, I guess I must've screwed up a connection somewhere... I'm gonna try the new schem tomorrow. I do like the gain of it. keep it up

Ciao.

PS: oh, is it normal that it eats up the battery so quick?

I got the B-movie tremolo & tunable oscillations too @ 1st. If you get rid of the stuff on the output stage to make it a plain buffer the oscillation should go away, but the eating batteries thing is a little scarier, you may have a short somewhere. Check for continuity where you shouldn't have it.

RDV

[RDV]

Notch means...only a narrow band of frequencies 'gets through'?
 That's pretty much what I think I'm after...
  Rolling off highs, and limiting only a certain amount of lows say at input, would leave the band of freqs that are left in the midddle, but how sharp would the cutroff be?
 That said, some kind of curve on a bass peak filter [or is that the same thing?] would be worth experimenting with.
 Maybe  there's a way to tune a coil to produce a fairly narrow band bass eq peak...
  I'm pretty certain that's what I'm after if that semi narrow to narrow bass frequency band.
 The other post "PEQ" [Parametric EQ] tonight is about the experiments with and SD-1 [sounds like a very thick TS+ beyond]...Was a fun play no doubt. Kinda took some dialing, only tunes cool one way, but werth the monkeying to get there...didn't really sound like yer average widget...

Notch means a narrow band of cut frequency, though the Q control will widen it, I've got to bring in the big amp & try mine, as my Ruby doesn't have enough bass to fully hear the sweep.

RDV

[Torchy]

So RDV, is the schematic at the start of this thread the final solution or is there an updated one

[RDV]

So RDV, is the schematic at the start of this thread the final solution or is there an updated one

The one at the beginning is the latest version. It works, as is, if you build it as pictured you will get sound and no oscillations & stuff. I'm still testing the prototype which I finished de-bugging last night. I'm @ work @ the dreaded day gig right now, so I can't do anything. It needs to be tested on an amp that's capable of a lot of potential low end so that aspect of the circuit can be heard. Time is not my friend.

Regards

RDV

[Torchy]

Excellent - Im still learning about mods and tweaking so a proven schematic is a good starting point for me.

Excellent thread, Im learning so much from this forum